Wednesday, November 25, 2009

The Rebirth of the Monster

With the March 1952 issue of Frankenstein #18, legendary comics creator Dick Briefer threw out the cartoony humor stylings of the previous kiddy oriented Frankenstein adventures and brought "The Monster" back to his more realistically grim and violent horror roots. Most collectors prefer the latter, but I think both series' are great. Todays THOIA story, coinciding with Pierre's"Boris Karloff Blogathon" over at Frankensteinia presents the first "rebirth" story from what was then called the "new origin" series.

Karswell: Great story! I have the Dick Briefer Frankenstein stuff in the b&w recent release in paperback (man, I wish they would have done that up right with a color hardback edition). It sure is nice to see it in glorious 4 color.

I love the sheer size and power Briefer gave his monster - breaking small mortals like kindling, his mammoth hands dwarfing their puny bodies. I also love how this monster wants his creator to live, to increase the suffering. -- Mykal

I'll say it too--GREAT STORY! I love they way the artist holds off showing the monster until page 4, which really adds to the suspense and cinematic feel of the comic. And that monster is indeed horrifying--the backbreak over the knee is just so full of power and fury, it's almost chilling.

I also like the neat touch of the maimed villagers showing all their wounds as they discuss what to do--particularly the man laid out on the table, obviously dead. It's a great way to tell the tale of the monster's devastation visually, and nicely done.

The later issues of this title are so much better. Not only is Frankenstein back to form, but the filler stories are good, too. But I wasn't sure when the transition happened, so thanks for the info on this.

Indeed! And since I've already posted another story from this issue I've decided that the next THOIA post will be the third and last Frankenstein tale from #18 too, so you completists can now celebrate! I'll even give ya the non-related filler story about a leopard girl. It's coming next, thanks for the comments!

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